1) The study compares the energy utilization of rural vernacular architecture and urban low-rise structures in Jharkhand. 2) Mud houses have significantly lower embodied energy than comparable urban houses constructed of materials like brick masonry and concrete. 3) Mud houses utilize locally available and renewable materials like mud, cow dung and straw, requiring minimal processing and transportation energy.

1. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENERGY UTILISATION
BETWEEN
RURAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN LOW-RISE STRUCTURE
IN JHARKHAND
By
Ar. Janmejoy Gupta
Asstt. Prof.
Dr. Manjari Chakraborty
Professor and Head, DEPT. OF ARCHITECTURE
At
National Conference on “Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness”
Environmental Science and Engineering Group
Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand
4th and 5th Dec. 2012

2. BACKGROUND
The building industry contributes 30% of total carbon dioxide
emission of the country.
Proper sustainability in the built environment to ensure
minimisation of Green House Gases into the environment.
This can be achieved by low carbon buildings.

3. WHAT ARE SUSTAINABLE ASPECTS OF HABITAT DESIGN ?
HOW TO ENSURE PROPER SUSTAINABILITY IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT – ROLE OF MUD HOUSES IN THIS ASPECT.
EMBODIED ENERGY CALCULATIONS FOR SIMILAR AREAS OF URBAN & RURAL HOUSES.
SUMMARY OF ENERGY SAVINGS IN MUD HOUSES
HOW TO ENSURE PROPER SUSTAINABILITY IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT – ROLE OF MUD HOUSES IN THIS ASPECT.
THE UNIQUENESS OF RURAL AREAS AND THEIR ABILITY TO RESPOND TO GLOBAL PROBLEMS MUST BE
AFFIRMED.
CONCLUSIONS

4. Defining Sustainability ……
“…development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own
needs.” - The Bruntland Commission (1987)
Sustainability can be defined as the
continued ability of a society, an ecosystem,
or any such interactive system to function
without exhausting key resources and
without adversely effecting the
environment.
SUSTAINABILITY & GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

5. A sustainable habitat is one that is
economically viable, environmentally benign, and
socially acceptable
SUSTAINABLE ASPECTS OF HABITAT DESIGN

6. RURAL ARCHITECTURE IN
JHARKHAND

7. CONSTRUCTION
mud mixed with cow dung, chopped straw, and gravel or stones to
make the raw material for the walls.
Wattle and Daub construction style.
Mud wall with wooden-posts
of typical hut
Source:Uthaipattrakul, Dh. (2004). Mud-house construction technique. Building the house
with mud. Suan-ngarn-mena Press, Bangkok, 27-50

8. CONSTRUCTION
Special mud blocks left with vegetable waste
matter to mature for wall construction.
Source: Gautam Avinash(2008),
Climate Responsive Vernacular
Source: Dhar (1992) Architecture: Jharkhand, India,
Masters Of Science Thesis, Department
of Architecture, Kansas State
University, Manhattan,Kansas.

9. URBAN RESIDENCE STUDIED
 TYPICAL LOW INCOME GROUP
HOUSE STUDIED
 MADE OF CONVENTIONAL,
COMMONLY USED BUILDING
MATERIALS.
 TOTAL MATERIALS USED
CALCULATED USING REGRESSION
EQUATIONS.

10. EMBODIED ENERGY
 “Embodied energy is the energy consumed
by all of the processes associated with the
production of a building, from the acquisition
of natural resources to product delivery.”
 Embodied energy takes into account the energy
used to create the building materials for the
construction and maintenance of a house.
Studies concerning low-energy housing show that embodied energy can
account for as much as 40–60% of total energy use (Thormark, 2006)

11. EMBODIED ENERGY - FACTORS
Electricity use.
Energy losses in electricity production & transmission.
Fuel extraction, processing and delivery.
Process heat.
Transport.
Capital equipment energy use.
←
Energy used to provide the building materials
Energy used for replacement building materials during
maintenance ←

12. EQUATIONS FOR MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS (A is the floor area in
sq.meters)-Regression equations for estimating quantity of materials.
MATERIALS SINGLE STOREY DOUBLE STOREY
BRICKS –(1000 nos) 2.26 A + 66.8 2.15 A + 63
CEMENT (TON) 0.153 A + 0.57 0.145 A + 0.54
STEEL (KG) 21.3 A - 314 21.97 A – 305
COARSE AGGREGRATE 0.176 A – 0.21 + 0.145 0.178 A – 0.21 + 0.075
(CUBIC METER) (ALL A + 1.5 A + 0.78
SIZES)
BRICK AGGREGATE 0.113 A – 0.83 0.056 A – 0.42
(CUBIC METER)
TIMBER (METER CUBE) 0.019 A + 0.23 0.019 A + 0.23
LIME (100 KG) 0.145 A – 0.35 0.073 A – 0.17
SURKHI 0.052 A – 0.37 0.026 A – 0.18
BITUMEN (KG) 1.836 A – 9.0 0.918 A – 4.0
GLASS (SQ. METERS) 0.064 A – 0.73 0.064 A – 0.73
PRIMER (1) 0.068 A 0.068 A
PAINT (1) 0.108 A + 0.27 0.108 A + 0.27
SOURCE: CSIR- CENTRAL BUILDING RESEARCH INSTITUTE (CBRI) PUBLISHED EQUATIONS FOR
ESTIMATION OF THE MAJOR BUILDING MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SINGLE STOREY & DOUBLE
STOREY LOAD BEARING WALL RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS. VALID FOR FLOOR AREA FROM 30 SQ
METERS TO 300 SQ METERS.

13. COMPUTATION OF EMBODIED ENERGY FOR
SINGLE STOREY HOUSE
DESCRIPTION OF ITEMS/MATERIALS EMBODIED ENERGY
USED IN THE HOUSE (MEGA JOULES)
TRADITIONAL HOUSE USING CONVENTIONAL 82,178
MATERIALS SUCH AS BRICK MASONARY IN
FOUNDATION & IN WALLS & RCC IN ROOF.
WALL THICKNESS EQUALS 23 CMS.
TOTAL FLOOR AREA = 40 SQUARE METERS
THE QUANTITY OF MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR THE
INSTALLATION OF ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL, PLUMBING,
SEWAGE & DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IS NOT INCLUDED.
DESCRIPTION OF ITEMS/MATERIALS USED EMBODIED ENERGY
IN THE HOUSE (MEGA JOULES)
MUD , STRAW, COW DUNG, GRAVEL, CLAY 20,000
TILES/THATCH
Mud is an easy raw material to obtain. It is extracted from the
very site that the house is constructed, so saving on transport is
one of the major benefits.

14. CALCULATIONS
Embodied Energy of Mud per kg = 0.7 MJ/Kg. E.E Of Clay Tiles = 3
MJ/kg.
Total mud used in constructing 8 meters X 5 meters mud house = 10
cubic meter volume of mud.
Specific Density of mud = 1700 kg/meter cube. Thus, Mass = 17,000
kg. Total Embodied Energy= 20,000 Mega Joules.

15. WHY MUD HOUSING ?
The mud – house uses minimal energy, is comfortable
year round.
The building is massive construction technique, mainly
because of the temperature extremes and its unique
earth – sheltered design.
passive air – ventilation systems supplies cool air to the
house if so designed.
Moreover, it is easily to build thru community
participation,
without constructor/contractor payment bills.

16. LESS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
To save natural resources.
Using neither cement nor rock.
Using just a little wood.
To save building materials.
Main materials are soil and water, mixed to be mud, if the mud
is too sticky, one can add up with paddy husk or rice straw or
local fibre weed or bamboo.
ENERGY SAVINGS…

17. ENERGY SAVINGS
Requiring only a little stabilizer, the embodied energy in a meter
cube of mud can be from 5 to 15 times less than 1 m³ of fired
bricks.
The pollution emission : 2.4 to 7.8 times less than fired bricks.
Produced locally, with a natural resource and semi-skilled
labour, almost without transport, it will be definitely cost effective.

18. 30 % of the world population lives in earthen dwellings.
25 % of the world population does not have access to decent housing.
 STATISTICS FROM THE HERITAGE LISTS OF UNESCO SHOW
THAT:
15 % of the “world cultural heritage” is built with earth.
25 % of the “world heritage in danger” is built with earth.
14 % of the“100 most endangered world heritage” is built with earth.

19. India – Cost effective
house
Saudi Arabia – Exhibition
Centre

20. India – Development
Centre
Mali – French Cultural
Centre

21. Workshop at the Auroville
Earth Institute
Dhyanalingam temple
Near Coimbatore,22 m
diameter
Domes of the Visitor’s
Centre at Auroville1992
(Hassan Fathy Award for
Architecture for the poor)

22. (Auroville)
House at AVBC/Earth Unit
Training Centre of AV-BC
Mirramukhi School

23. DISADVANTAGES
There are disadvantages, which normally are:
1.variations in the soil quality and hence the block quality,
2.shrinkage cracks, less longevity, more maintenance.
3.lower strength than high quality fired bricks or concrete,
4.Not able to produce of the blocks on site, etc.

24. Different dimensions
of “global competitiveness”
 To cope with globalisation, the in the rural areas – must aim for four objectives:
1. Areas must position themselves in the spheres opened up by
globalisation.
2. Exchanges and forms of solidarity and transfer must be developed
between areas.
3. A dialogue must be established between socio-economic actors
and between institutional levels.
4. The uniqueness of rural areas and their ability to respond to
global problems must be affirmed.

25. From global to local level: affirming the
uniqueness and ability of the rural world
to fi nd answers to global problems.
It is in this context that role of Mud Architecture and its properly
developed form which can be replicated all over Jharkhand in its rural
areas to increase general living standards & Thermal Comfort (and
protection from extreme climatic conditions).
National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) has developed
modular adobe houses which can be easily replicated for 16 different
climatic regions in India. There is however, none for Jharkhand Area.

26. CONCLUSIONS
There is a huge potential in saving energy about 25%-30% in single &
double storey houses in India by using innovative materials and
techniques for the construction.
Since half a century, research and development has proved the potential
of earthen techniques. Earth can be used as a quality and modern
building material almost everywhere in the world.